The role of measures for support of SMEs on employment in the Republic of Macedonia

The SME sector is the driving force of inclusive economic growth in Macedonia and in creating sustainable jobs and increasing productivity. Today, small enterprises have a growing number of supporters who believe that small enterprises are carriers of innovation and entrepreneurship and are able to react quickly to changes in the environment. For years, Macedonia has suffered from high unemployment, but this trend is beginning to decrease. However, as a country with a relatively young economy and a long transition period, unemployment is one of the main problems in the Macedonian economy. The condition of the labor market regulation is the field in which the country invests and strives to provide support to the population with the relevant laws, which is recognized through regulatory changes that affect the life cycle of business and employment. However, it is worth noting the trend of a gradual reduction in unemployment in recent years, despite the global effects of the crisis, due to several factors, including active employment measures (ALMs), measures against the gray economy, job creation in new companies with foreign capital, and a gradual economic recovery positively affect the reduction of unemployment. The subject of research in this paper is focused on analysis of SMEs and the measures for supporting their development with a special emphasis on employment, as well as conducting analysis of the active enterprises in the Republic of Macedonia by size, by sector and by number of employees, analysis of the activity of the population and employment by sectors. The aim of the paper is to determine the role of the SME support measures on solving the issues that the companies in Macedonia face in terms of creating new jobs